Category: Dewey

This post is the update post I will use today for the Dewey Read A Thon. To read more about this, please click here and read the sticky post I have up today that tells you about the read a thon and what cause I am reading for. This post will be used for updates throughout the day – the most current information will be at the top.

Here we go!

Hour 16 – check in…

Seriously… I must have reached that time where time just passes me by. I was working on the last hours challenge and suddenly, the hour is gone -I have made no updates in the last hour and now here I am again, almost at 10:30 pm and not reading. SO picture up for the Pet Parade at Estelle’s Revenge. The challenge was to post pics of what you pet is doing right now.

Yes – we have three dogs. I have a weakness for rescue dogs. As you can see all three are passed out. Some day.. I will be too 🙂

Hour 15 – check in…

Eeep! Where did the time go? I am on page 97 of the book TEN. No audio as hubby is now in bed so do not want to BLAST him awake. Or… do I?

271 pages for the day, 4 hours of audio…. keep on keeping on.

I did not think I had the energy to participate in this hours challenge… but then… I did. Gail at Ticket To Anywhere presents the challenge of making poetry out of book spines… here is mine:

“While I was gone, far far away, the song remains the same;

songs of willow frost, wounded by God’s people, the color of rain.”

Hour 13 – check in…

No progress. I made dinner for my hubby, I listened to about 15 minutes of audio while I did so. Talked with hubby for a while before he went to watch tv. Played on Twitter. Wrote on a couple of blogs.

Hour 12 – check in…

I think I recovered from the grog. I had a snack. Drank some water. And started a new read. Here is the Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?

TEN by (which is kind of funny as I seen this book on someone elses blog and thought it sounded amazing so downloaded it)

2. How many books have you read so far?

Two and a half. I cleaned up on two audio books and finished a book and a half so far.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Not really sure – I have been choosing books randomly by mood.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

A few phone calls, some texts, nothing too bad.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

I am always thrilled to see how many participate and from all over the world. When you think about all of us reading at the same time… its kind of cool 🙂

Listened to: The Vanishing by Wendy Webb – 15 minutes

Read: TEN by Gretchen McNeil – 40 pages

Totals: Audio -3 hour and 55 minutes, book pages – 174.

Hour 10 – check in…

Feeling word… a little groggy… or if one word allowed only… groggy.

All visions of cleaning out that spare room today while listening to audio have gone out the window… now I am thinking of doing it tomorrow and seeing if Al (hubby) can handle the trip tot eh cabin tomorrow to work with the construction dude on Monday and Tuesday and I can stay here…. we will see how that pans out.

Updates –

Listened to: The Vanishing by Wendy Webb –

Read: I have not started another book yet. I should this hour.

Totals: Audio -3 hour and 40 minutes, book pages – 134.

At a Girl That Likes Books, the hourly challenge is to talk about any food within your books or food that is making you hungry while reading. That is easy since all morning I was reading Delancey – about a restaurant. The book is filled with awesome recipes that I will be digging into over the next few weeks, here is one from the book:

How about Brownies? Right out of the book:

My Kate’s Brownies

You’ll need:

1 stick of unsalted butter

2 ounces of dark chocolate

1 cup mines 2 tablespoons of sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup of unbleached all purpose flour (I used normal white flour)

1/4 tsp fine sea salt.

Preheat the oven at 325F.

In a pan warm the chocolate and the butter together till melted. Remove from the heat and add the sugar, stir well. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and stir to blend completely. Stir in the flour and salt. Stir till smooth.

Pour it into the baking dish 8×8

Place the dish in the oven and check after 25 minutes. They can take longer depending on the oven.

Allow to cool completely even if you’re tempted to dive into them sooner.

Hour 9 – check in…

Whew! Things would go a lot easier if my internet was cooperating. Seriously – I went to open an email and I actually recorded it..it took 34 seconds to open… it just kept saying loading. SO…. the quick fun mini challenges I want to partake in are taking forever to set up. Eeep! Oh well… here is what is happening here:

Listened to: The Vanishing by Wendy Webb (yes back on it… its on my phone, close to me… the cd player the other one is in is all the way across the room. Yes, it has come to this. 😉 – 10 minutes

and DeadBookDarling asked that we post a picture f a valued book in our collections. That one is easy, this is the book that my College Son Justin gave me for Mothers Day this year after he graduated from Graphic Design. He made this cover to the book.

Redesign by my son – inside back cover dedicated to me 🙂

Hour 7 – check in…

Still going! I went to the store to pick up a missing ingredient for my soup I wanted to make for lunch. I listened to audio all the way (the one in my car) and then while cooking I put in a new audio – Nightmares by Jason Segal…. I had to put The Vanishing on hold… it was not fast paced enough for the read a thon.

Hour 5 – check in…

Quarantine by Joe McKinney – Finished! (I only had a little left of this one)

Read: Delancey by Molly Wizenberg – 73 pages

Totals: Audio – 1 hour and 15 minutes, book pages – 73.

I am about to get up and go to the store – I am missing one ingredient I need for my soup I am making today! I will listen to audio on the way, and audio after I am back and cooking away in the kitchen.

In the mean time… here is the mini challenge for Hour 5: Book Staging:

Delancey is a great non fiction read about an opening of a pizza restaurant… and yes, they served wine. 🙂

Hour 3 – check in…

Wow! 3 hours in, that flew by! I felt at first that I was so tired this morning but now thanks to all that coffee.. and a shower thanks to the picture required for the mini challenge hour 2 (lol) I am feeling pretty jazzed!

I do not have a reading update at this time as I have been messing around choosing a new audio to listen to (I did not realize I was so close to ending the two I had going on my phone). I listen to audio while I work on mini challenges or am putzing in my kitchen (is it too early for cheese puffs?)…. and so, here is the picture called for in the Hour 3 challenge: Shelfie:

Note – this is a sticky post that will stay on top during the read-a-thon. Other posts with updates will be below this one today. 🙂

It’s here! The fall Dewey Read-a-Thon is here and I am so happy I am able to be a part of it! I love everything that Dewey stands for.

As usual, I like to read for a charity. This time around I am planning to read for my local Friends Of The Brainerd Public Library. We are a group of volunteers that work to assist our library with additional literacy programming for children and adults alike, purchase additional copies of best sellers, provide opportunities to participate in events such as author events, book clubs, provide additional seating in our library, the book in a bag program, children’s books, and so much more. I LOVE being a part of this group and see us working more and more in our community to get the word out how important the local library is.

I will be donating 10 cents per page I read in the next 24 hours, and 10 cents per minute I listen to audio in the next 24 hours. I invite you to feel free to make a donation to support my cause today by clicking on the button below. Any contribution is welcome!

As a bonus, I am giving away a book or two to celebrate Dewey. You receive a chance to win book of choice or a $10 Amazon gift card by leaving a comment here, and an additional change by donating to the Friends Of The Brainerd Public LIbrary. Here are the books I am offering:

After this opening meme, I will have a new post put up for updates – I will keep updating the same post, but please, pop in throughout the day to check in… love the company and each comment will put you in the drawing for one of the items above. I will announce the winner tomorrow with the results of my personal part of the read a thon.

The opening meme:

Opening Meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Brainerd Minnesota!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Hmmm…. I have been reading Delancey and I am excited to see where that one is going. From there I do not know 🙂
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I loaded up at the store yesterday… I think the cheese puffs will make me happy, but lunch is chicken wild rice soup that I will be making while listening to audio. Mmmmmmmm
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Apparently I am a die-hard reader. LOL… you probably knew that 🙂 Let’s see, I am Sheila and I have hosted Book Journey since 2009. I am in an amazing book club that started in 2001 and now has 16 active members, I am President Of Our Friends group – oh and I recently left my job of 10 years to commit to my writing. EEP! And randomly, I enjoy a good mud run, and love to ride my bike long distances.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? I am going to try to read more. I tend to get caught up in the social part of the read-a-thon. I will be participating in the challenges, but trying for a more happy mix 🙂

If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? Not my first 🙂

Ok I am off… starting with Delancey this morning and just having coffee. It is still early here 🙂

Are you participating in the read-a-thon? If not have you in the past?

Good morning! Happy Sunday! Hazah! (I don’t know why I said that). I made it to hour 17 yesterday of the Dewey Read-A-Thon (HAZAH!). Not bad for someone who decided to participate at the last-minute. 😀

I listened to two audio books and started a third. I finished one book. The reason so much audio is because I could participate in the mini challenges while listening, and cook and do other things while listening. It actually worked out wonderfully. You will see those reviews up this week.

As for what came in this week, I am in audio heaven. I finally have a few great audio contacts that keep me moving forward in my listening. Thank you audio peeps!!! I can not even tell you how excited that makes me.

Along with the Read-A-Thon yesterday I mentioned I was reading for charity and listed MS as that is what I am raising money for now for the bike ride I will be completing in June. I was contributing by page count and minute count and I invited you all to feel free to sponsor my reading as well.

I wound up between my reading and those of you who sponsored me (Thank you!) with a total of $107.80 for MS! HAZAH! (There’s that word again!)

The winner from the people who sponsored me is: Christina who will get to choose from one of the books I offered yesterday.

YAY!!!

And now I must get ready. I am helping with a benefit dinner today for Camp Benedict that starts at noon. I am heading now to help with the set up and will be back late afternoon.

Have a super Sunday! Readathoners rest up today, or as I see today is overcast and rainy here… maybe I will come home to read my book. 🙂

This post is where I will update my participation in todays read-a-thon. (See my intro post and why I am reading today in the sticky post above this one – just click on home or the Book Journey header and it will take you there 🙂 ) Most current info will be at the top:

Mid-Event Survey 1. What are you reading right now? The Storied Life of A J Fikry 2. How many books have you read so far? 2 1/2 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? not sure yet… I have quite a pile here 😉 4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Nope – just turned out I could stay at home and hubby was gone all day. 5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? No, went to town once to get dinner but listened to audio on the way 6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Nothing really, it has been very relaxing 7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope – everyone is doing fantastic. 8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Asa reader I would consider getting away to a hotel or to our cabin to have complete quiet. I have two bouncing dogs here that have been a bit nutty chasing each other around the house. 9. Are you getting tired yet? Nope 10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Not really – I have played many roles in the past read a thons and I think everyone is doing an awesome job.

When our book club read Reconstructing Amelia I was in charge of a main dish. In the book, Amelia’s favorite place to eat was Hibachi. I figured why not? So I did a little research and made a delicious Hibachi dish. Here is that recipe:

4-6 skinless chicken breasts

1 large onion sliced

3 -4 Zucchini Squash

2 yellow squash

3 cups mushrooms (I bought the pre sliced from the produce area of the grocery store)

2 cans drained bean sprouts ( or 3 cups fresh)

2 colored peppers (I used red and yellow – these are optional)

soy sauce

butter

salt and pepper

lemon juice

sesame seeds

olive oil

Slice chicken into bite size pieces and set aside.

Take the mushrooms and slice into bite size pieces and set aside.

Slice the onion, squash, and peppers into strips of bite size pieces, keep separate from the mushrooms.

Place a tablespoon of olive oil in two separate large fry pans. Over medium high heat heat the oil in both pans. In one pan place the chicken, in the other pan place the vegie mix of onion, squash and peppers. Place 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of butter over the chicken. Add salt and pepper. Place two tablespoons of soy sauce and a tablespoon of butter over the vegies. Saute the vegie pan while occasionally stirring the cooking chicken pan.

When chicken is done (about 8-10 minutes), vegies should be done as well. Take the vegies off the hot burner and set aside. Take the chicken and slide it to one side of the pan sprinkling it with a little lemon juice and then sprinkle on sesame seeds over the chicken. In the other half of the pan place a tablespoon of butter and as it melts stir in the mushrooms. Put a little soy sauce over the mushrooms. When mushrooms are cooked, mix it with the chicken and add the rest of the vegies from the other pan. gently toss the mixture over medium heat for a couple of minutes.

Place chicken vegie mix into a large serving pan.

In the pan you just used for the chicken and vegie mix, place a tsp of olive oil and toss in the bean sprouts until they are hot. place the bean sprouts on top of the chicken mix in the serving pan.

Name that book? This is one I am reading today. Here is the answer if you want to see if you were right.

Please remember that I am reading/listening for charity today – I am doing a 150 mile bike ride in June to raise money for MS, please consider donating to my efforts by using this link here. I am giving away a book (above post) out of those who contribute to this important cause. Every dollar helps 🙂

I did not decide until last night that I was doing this so hang on while I catch up. 🙂 I had a conflict today – a run actually that was going to keep me from this, however poor weather in the area stunted my training for this one, and it was supposed to be cold and rainy today so my friend and I had made the decision not to do the run.

And of course… it is sunny and not a cloud in the sky.

But no matter! Once I wrapped my head around the idea of doing the read-a-thon, I became really excited. I usually participate with helping with the mini challenges, or hosting, or cheer leading or a combo of all I just mentioned… and due to my lack of commitment… I get to just participate.

YIPPY!

I kind of feel like Katniss today.

Anyhoo…

I did mention I was reading today for Charity. There are a few charities I connect with through the year and this time of year I am usually raising funds for the MS 150 mile bike ride I participate in this June. I ride with a group that raises money for MS. If you look at my support page you can read more about it.

My personal contribution I will make to this cause today is:

$1.00 for every 10 pages read

$1.00 for every 10 minutes of audio listened to

A bonus $5 per each book finished

Every comment on a Dewey post today (here) I will add 25 cents to the total.

I would LOVE your support on this reading day for MS. If you feel called to contribute to this cause, please go to this page and click on donate. I appreciate your consideration, and each person who donates to me through this read-a-thon will go into a drawing for one of the following books (your choice):

I will announce final totals for reading and for contribution to MS through this read-a-thon in the morning.

Here are the official kick off questions. All other updates and mini challenges I participate in will be in the post below this one for the rest of the day.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Brainerd Minnesota!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Hmmmm….. since I just made the decision last night to participate, I relaly do not have a stack… I do hope to tackle today the end of Jane Eyre which is a book I started over a year ago and have not returned to yet.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Again, I am a poor preparer so at some point today I will have to run to the store, while listening to audio of course. 🙂

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I have blogged about books here at Book Journey since June of 2009. I am an avid reader, biker, rollerblader, and want to be runner. I LOVE hanging out with family and friends and being a part of whatever is new exciting and a little bit crazy.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I am hoping to get in some good reading time! I usually get distracted my the mini challenges and all the fun and I like to visit other participants too but I am going to try to stay in the books today…

Carpe book people. Carpe book.

All other updates and mini challenges I participate in will be in the post below this one for the rest of the day.

Good morning! How many of us groggy book blogger peeps did the Dewey read A Thon yesterday? From the looks of the Dewey site and Twitter…. I would say a LOT. The hashtag #readathon was trending for awhile and I heard last night that over 1,000 pictures has been uploaded to instygram for the #readathon.

Impressive?

I think so… imagine all of us reading around the world…. seriously, it gives me goosebumps.

So how did I do?

Not as good as I had hoped. 😀

It started yesterday at 7 am central time. I woke up at 6 am and started reading. By 7:30 I decided I should work on my posts for my co-hosting shift coming up for the readathon…. and that took me almost to the time that I started hosting, hour 5. 😯

From hour 5 to hour 8, I was co-hosting which was a BLAST! It was my first time and it really was a wake up call to how much is happening behind the scenes on the read a thon! I watched for emails and questions, I stayed active on twitter, made sure the links worked to the mini challenges, carried on conversations on the comments at the website… it was a lot of fun and I was honored to be a part of it.

At hour 9 I had to get out or the recliner that I had been in since an hour before the read a thon started. I put on an audio (Requiem) and went outside to clean off the deck as yesterday was the first nice weather day we have had this year in Central Minnesota. Just 3 days ago it was still snowing… now it is finally melting and the deck is clear….

At hour 12 I had made supper (while listening to audio), picked up the cheese bag by the wrong end and “cheesed” my entire kitchen floor and then went to book for hour 13 – 16.

Ah hour 16 (10 pm) I was fading…. I was trying to read but I kept closing my eyes. I tried coffee but I was done for. About 10 to 11 pm I went to bed.

At hour 22 I was up.

I immediately went back to audio (now Raven Boys) and finished out the read a thon doing that. 😀

Here is the end of event meme questionnaire:

Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 16. I was just too far gone and all I could think was I am TIRED. 😛

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Requiem was awesome… I listened to it on audio while I got up and moved around… really good!

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I thought it went well… I enjoyed the changing hosts on the sites and the fun things they posted.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Hmmm… I think everything, the mini challenges were fun, it seemed like it went really smooth.

How many books did you read? only 2 finished and a couple of audio advanced in.

What were the names of the books you read? How To Start A Home Based Event Planning Business (lol it was good!) , Requiem

Which book did you enjoy most? I actually really enjoyed them both – for different reasons 🙂

Which did you enjoy least? none

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I was not a cheerleader.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I hope to always participate, I really look forward to it and as soon as I know the dates I put it on my calendar. I have joked in the past about going to a hotel for the day just to get away from everything and do the read a thon and I still may do that one of these times 🙂

I would love to help with the co hosting again… I was new this time and I learned a lot of how it works and how to keep up with it. 😀

That’s the read a thon. If you are curious about it, go check out the site. I highly recommend it!

Today I have my uncles funeral and some family things after wards. My uncle fought cancer hard for years but this last year it really took over his body. Last September he decided no more chemo and so he quit all the treatments to not feel sick all the time. He had some good months before he started slipping these past weeks. While it is a loss to our family, we are all happy that he is no longer suffering and in pain. Today will be a celebration of his life.

Hey read-a-thoners!!!! Watcha reading??? Are you getting a little hungry while reading?

My book club meets each month at someones home and we try to bring food to go with the book we just read. It is a lot of fun to see how creative we can get! For instance when we read the book ROOM by Emma Donoghue, there was Jack’s birthday cake as described in the book, Jack’s favorite meal of macaroni and cheese, ma’s favorite treat and on the creative side – we had pigs in a blanket renamed for the book “Jack in a rug”. (To get that one you have to have read the book). 😛

Another example would be… say you are reading Chocolat. Well, of course you would be whipping up some tasting chocolat concoctions! Or… you are reading The 19th wife which has to do with Iowa and a funeral… you would always do funeral type foods that were popular in Iowa at the time….

Anyhoo.. for this mini challenge if you choose to accept it, I will be asking you to come up a menu to go along with your current read or one of the books in your reading pile for today. Now… imagine that you have friends coming over to discuss the book with you. You have prepared food and beverage items to go with your meeting (money…. is no object). And what I need to see from you is:

1. Book title and author

2. The menu, food, beverage, you can even go as far as background music, decorations…. have fun with this!

3. You will receive an additional entry if you create a drink to go with your book event and give it a name

4. While you are welcome to post your response in the comments below, you will receive an additional entry if you leave a comment AND link up to a post about this on your own blog. (Linky available below)

SO…. Swedish Chef…. what are they playing for?

A winner will be chosen at the end of this mini challenge time using Random.org and will be announced here that they have won a $20 Amazon gift card that will be sent by email today to the winner! **If more than 40 participate in this challenge, a runner up $10 Amazon card will be added.